The only commercial process for the production of methanol starts with the generation of synthesis gas containing carbon monoxide and hydrogen. When natural gas is the raw material, synthesis gas can be formed by reacting methane with carbon dioxide and water over a catalyst. The resulting synthesis gas is converted to methanol at a high pressure using a suitable catalyst.
Numerous improvements have been made, in the methanol process since it was introduced in the 1920's. Nevertheless, this process is handicapped by high capital investment to produce the synthesis gas and by the need lo operate the conversion step at elevated pressures to overcome unfavorable equilibrium conditions.
Recognizing the drawbacks of present-day technology, industry has made several attempts to provide a more efficient process for ethanol synthesis. One of these methods is outlined in U.S. Pat. No. 6,452,058 assigned to Dow Global Technologies, Inc. In this process, methane is oxychlorinated with oxygen and hydrogen chloride to produce methyl chloride, which then is hydrolyzed with water to provide methanol and hydrogen chloride. By recycling the hydrogen chloride to the first step, a balanced operation can be achieved.
On paper, the Dow process appears to be ideal. One diff difficulty with this process, however, is the hydrolysis reaction. At equilibrium, only a limited quantity of methyl chloride is converted to methanol. A further problem with the Dow process is the formation of higher chlorinated methane compounds in the oxychlorination step.
With these results in mind, it is an object of the present invention to provide for an improved process for the manufacture of methanol from methane. A further goal is to achieve low capital investment. These objects, as well as other features and advantages of the present invention, will be apparent from the following description and the figures that are included.